Orioles offense starts season with historic performance vs LA Angels

The Baltimore Orioles kicked off the season in historic fashion with a 2-1 series win against the Los Angeles Angels. The Birds had a great offseason for many reasons; they signed a new stadium lease, got new ownership, and brought in several new players to boost the already talented roster. They continued the good times in Sarasota when they went 23-6 in spring training, and they've continued that success into the regular season.

The Orioles got the ball rolling early in Game 1 when they scored two runs in the bottom of the first inning and never took their foot off the gas. They went on to score three in the second inning, two in the fourth inning, one in the sixth inning and three in the seventh inning. Big performances included Adley Rutschman (2-4, 3 runs, 2 RBI, 1 BB), Anthony Santander (1-4, 1 run, 4 RBI and a homer) and Cedric Mullins (1-4, 1 run, 3 RBI and a homer). Corbin Burnes struck out 11 and the Orioles won 11-3.

In the second game, the Orioles offense was even better. Gunnar Henderson led off the first inning with a monster home run, his first of the year, and the Orioles offense continued to poor it on the Angels. While the O's did score in four of the eight innings in which they batted in Game 2, the main damage was done in the bottom of the sixth, when the Birds hung a nine spot on LA. Henderson finished 3-4 with 2 runs, 3 RBI (including the aforementioned homer), and was a double shy of the cycle. Santander went 2-4, also with 2 runs, 3 RBI and his second homer, and Ryan Mountcastle went 2-3 with a run scored, 3 RBI and a walk.

When it was over, the Orioles saw 10 different players record at least one hit in the game, and 10 players scored at least one run in the game. Grayson Rodriguez nearly matched Burnes' dominance from the opener, and the Orioles won by a final score of 13-4.

The third contest was totally different from the first two, as the Orioles bats cooled in the series finale. Tyler Wells continued a string of quality starts by Orioles pitchers to begin the season, but the O's only mustered one run, which came on a bases-loaded walk from Henderson in the second inning. The Birds took the loss in the third game, 4-1.

Even though the Orioles only scored one run in the third game, it capped an historic run. Specifically, we're referring to the 25th run the O's scored in the opening series, which ties a team record for most runs scored in any season's opening series since the franchise moved to Baltimore in 1954. The Orioles' previous record of 24 runs in an opening series came in 1970 against Cleveland Indians (now Guardians). Of course, that team went on to win the franchise's second World Series.

The current record was set in 2006 against the Tampa Bay Devil Rays (now Rays). Coincidentally, the Orioles put up huge numbers in the first two games of that series (winning them 9-6 and 16-6) before the offense cooled and they lost the third game 2-0. The big contributors in those games for the Orioles were Ramon Hernandez, Brian Roberts and Jay Gibbons. That season did not end nearly as well as 1970.

The Orioles came into this season with the highest of expectations, and they appear ready to deliver. We all knew they weren't going to go 162-0, but they are going to win a lot of games, and this will be a fun season to watch. Let's go O's.